“CBP continues to see a large influx of illegal migration along the Southwest Border,” said Customs and Border Protection Senior Official Troy Miller. “To disrupt criminal organizations that have little regard for human life, CBP is leading the way alongside external law enforcement partners through Operation Sentinel.”

In April, CBP encountered 178,622 persons attempting entry along the Southwest border, a 3% increase over March.

Single adults continue to make up the majority of these encounters. In April CBP expelled 111,714 individuals under Title 42.

Encounters along the Southwest Border of unaccompanied children and single minors from Northern Triangle countries dropped by 12% this month, with 13,962 encounters in April, compared with 15,918 in March.

In March during the height of the border challenge, Secretary of Homeland Security Alejandro N. Mayorkas made it clear that although it would take some time, the department and the Administration were in the process of implementing a plan to address migration flows.

Just over a month later, the average number of children in custody decreased to 2,895 from 4,109 in March, with the number of children in custody at 455 on May 11. In March, unaccompanied children spent an average of 115 hours in CBP custody. Now, unaccompanied children are being held in CBP facilities for an average of 28 hours.

In April CBP launched a new counter-network targeting operation focused directly on transnational criminal organizations affiliated with smuggling migrants into the U.S.

Operation Sentinel is a collaboration with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, the U.S. Department of State, and the FBI and DEA.

The new anti-smuggling effort targets all personnel and identifiable resources that criminal organizations require to operate. Operation Sentinel utilizes the full breadth of domestic and foreign authorities, data, and analytic capability to map organization networks; target their members, associates, and assets; and employ targeted actions and sanctions against them.

To date, Operation Sentinel partners in the State Department have revoked more than 130 visas associated with members and their associates. CBP is currently targeting hundreds more.

CBP performed more than 873 rescues nationwide in April. The number of rescues continues at a fast pace, with more than 5,787 individuals rescued this fiscal year, compared to 5,255 for all of fiscal year 2020.